Sparnotheriodon

Sparnotheriodon
Temporal range: Middle Eocene (Mustersan)
~47.8–41.3 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Litopterna
Family: †Sparnotheriodontidae
Genus: †Sparnotheriodon
Soria, 1980
Species:
†S. epsilonoides
Binomial name
†Sparnotheriodon epsilonoides
Soria, 1980

Sparnotheriodon is an extinct genus of sparnotheriodontid litoptern that lived during the Middle Eocene of what is now Argentina, leaving fossils in the Sarmiento Formation.[1]

Description

Sparnotheriodon was a medium-sized litoptern. Sparnotheriodon, Victorlemoinea, and one species of Notiolofos, N. arquinotiensis, have been estimated to have had masses of roughly 400 kg (880 lb), whereas another species of Notiolofos, N. regueroi, was smaller, with a body mass estimated between 25 and 58 kg, making them one of the largest litopterns of the Paleogene.[2] Litopterns reached such sizes again in the Miocene.[3]

Taxonomy

Sparnotheriodon was first named by Miguel Fernando Soria in 1980 on the basis of a mandible and teeth from the Sarmiento Formation of Argentina, with the type species being Sparnotheriodon epsilonoides.[1] In 1983, Richard Cifelli tentatively synonymized Sparnotheriodon with Victorlemoinea,[4] while many other authors consider it distinct.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Soria, Miguel Fernando (1980). "Una nueva y problemática forma de ungulado del Casamayorense". Actas II Congreso Argentino de Paleontologeıa y Bioestratigrafeıa y I Congreso Latinoamericano de Paleontologeıa.: 193–203.
  2. ^ Vizcaíno, Sergio Fabián; Cassini, Guillermo; Toledo, Néstor (2012-05-01). On the evolution of large size in mammalian herbivores of Cenozoic faunas of South America. University of Chicago Press. pp. 76–101. ISBN 978-0-226-64921-4.
  3. ^ Gelfo, Javier N.; López, Guillermo M.; Santillana, Sergio N. (2017). "Eocene ungulate mammals from West Antarctica: implications from their fossil record and a new species". Antarctic Science. 29 (5): 445–455. Bibcode:2017AntSc..29..445G. doi:10.1017/S0954102017000244. eISSN 1365-2079. hdl:11336/56552. ISSN 0954-1020. S2CID 86868504.
  4. ^ Cifelli, Richard L (1983-11-09). "The Origin and Affinities of the South American Condylarthra and Early Tertiary Litopterna (Mammalia)". American Museum Novitates (2772): 1–49.
  5. ^ Gelfo, Javier N. (June 2016). "Considerations about the Evolutionary Stasis of Notiolofos arquinotiensis (Mammalia: Sparnotheriodontidae), Eocene of Seymour Island, Antarctica". Ameghiniana. 53 (3): 316–332. doi:10.5710/AMGH.14.09.2015.2934. hdl:11336/54582. ISSN 0002-7014. S2CID 129877349.